(This fiction is based on the characters and settings created by Oyuki Konno)
**** Kanako's POV **** Monday ****
I was nervous as we entered the rose mansion and headed up the stairs. I know it was silly to feel that way since I've been here before helping out. A lot has changed since, especially the added responsibility of being the petit soeur of Rosa Chenesis en bouton. I took a deep breath to calm myself before entering through the biscuit door.
The rest of the Yamayurikai we present sitting around the table drinking tea. They all looked as the three of s entered the room. Noticing the stares from everyone Yumi-sama spoke up. "I'd like to officially present to you my petit soeur, Hosokawa Kanako. Please take care of her."
With that everyone came over and congratulated us and I received welcoming hugs from the student council members except my classmate, Noriko, who stood off in a corner with a blank expression on her face. It made me feel a little disappointed, I thought she'd be happy for me.
Once everyone settled back down in their seats. I served tea to Yumi-sama and Sachiko-sama, then I went around and refilled the rest of the student council. Today they were discussing ideas and plans for the upcoming cultural festival. After the meeting ended, I collected the dirty teacups and began washing them, while Noriko wiped over the meeting table.
As I was finishing up, Yumi-sama came over to me and said, "I'm going to inform the newspaper about this morning. They might wast to interview you later. Let me know if anyone causes you problems. Shall I see you at lunch?"
"Lunch would be wonderful. Shall I pick you up at your classroom?" I asked.
"That would be great, Kanako-chan. See you." She said as she walked out the door.
I turned back to the sink, placed the last of the cups on the drying rack, then wiped out the sink. I looked around and saw tat Noriko was just finishing p her cleaning. I collected our bags and handed her hers on our way out of the Rose Mansion.
"Noriko, did I do something wrong? You seem mad at me." I asked as we were walking down the pathway toward our classroom.
"I'm happy for you, Kanako, If anyone deserves the honor, it should be you. You've been a staunch supporter of Yumi-sama since the first day you saw her. Congratulations Kanako." She said as she gave me a slight smile.
"Then what's the problem?" I inquired.
"I'm worried as to how Touko-san will take the news." Noriko answered.
My anger seethed at the mention of Touko-san. "Why should it matter to Touko-san." I said, "All she does in criticize Yumi-sama and treats her with contempt." I added harshly.
"I know how she acts." Noriko stated. "But I think Touko really likes Yumi-sama and she acts the way she does because she doesn't want anyone to know." She finishes as we walked into class. I was quite shocked by the amount of people gathered around me as I walked through the door.
It is quite amazing how quickly new travels through the school. It is also surprising how any gossip concerning the Yamayurikai ignites a frenzy in the average Lillian student. I barely got to my seat before I was swarmed with questions.
Is it true?
Did Yumi-sama offer you her rosary?
What did she say?
Can I see it?
All the simultaneous input was overwhelming me. "Please stop." I pleaded. "Settle down and I;ll try and answer all your questions."
It took the crowd a few moments to settle down. I pulled the rosary out from under my uniform and said plainly, "Yes, this morning Rosa Chenesis en bouton offered me her rosary and asked me to be her petit soeur, in front of Maria-sama and Rosa Chenesis." I slowly replaced the rosary next to my skin and continued, "Pleas excuse me." I sat down at my desk. The crowd dispersed slowly giving me their congratulations and well wishes. O sighed and looked over at Noriko who smiled at me approvingly. I smiled back.
As I was getting my things together for class, a familiar voice addressed me from behind. "Good day, Kanako-san."
I turned my head around and responded. "Good day Touko-san. How are you?"
"Fine," the banana curled girl replied. "I just wanted to extend mu congratulations to you on your change of status. Yumi-sama is very lucky to find such an attentive and loyal petit soeur." Touko snidely continued.
Touko's snide remark infuriated me, but I was not going to let myself be baited like that. "Thank you for the well wishes Touko-san." I replied calmly then added smiling, "I know we haven't gotten along well in the past, bit your kind words have given me hope that we can mend our fences."
Just then the teacher was starting class, so Touko turned away and sat at her desk. I let out a sigh of relief. I never realized how hard it was to be popular. Before this morning, I kept to myself, had few friends, and stayed relatively under the radar. Now by being the petit soeur of the most popular girl in school, I am now the center of attention and thrust out into the spotlight. From zero to infinity in the time it took to place a rosary around my neck. I am quite overwhelmed. I wonder how a gentle girl like Yumi-sama handled it. I mad a mental note to ask her at lunch, then turned my attention back to my morning classes.
Morning classes were finished, so I collected my lunch and headed upstairs to meet Yumi-sama for lunch. It was a weird feeling being greeted by people who may not even have known my name before today. I reached her classroom without incident until Tsukato-sama bumped into me on her way out. "Kanako-san, can I have a second?" She asked.
"Yes, Tsukato-sama." I replied, "How can I help you?"
She handed me a picture. It showed the scene from this morning when I received Yumi-sama's rosary. I smiled fondly at the memory. "I would like your permission to publish this photo in the paper. Sachiko-sama ans Yumi-san already have given theirs. So may I?" The older girl with glasses pleaded.
"Yes, you may." I answered. "Could you make me a copy please?"
"You can have that one." Tsukato-sama replied. "Thank you." She walked off.
I turned around to retrieve Yumi-sama from her class and almost bumped into her. "Yumi-sama!" I exclaimed.
Yumi-sama giggled. "Call me Onee-sama now, Kanako-chan. Did you have any problems this morning?" she asked as we headed down the hall.
"No problems." I answered as I wrapped my arm around hers as wee walked. "But it is kind of overwhelming to be the center of attention. How did you handle it Yu- I mean Onee-sama?"
Yumi-sama smiled at my recovery, leaned into me and whispered, "I broke down in tears."
"Eh?" I expressed watching the blush rise on Yumi-sama's face.
"You heard me correctly. It was tight after I refused Onee-sama's rosary, and was stuck doing last years play. A group of girls cornered me and asked what was going on. I started off calm but when one of them asked me about Sachiko-sama, I lost all my composure and bawled like a baby." She giggled after her confession.
WE arrived at the door of the old greenhouse. I looked at my companion surprisingly. "We are not going to Rose Mansion?" I asked as Yumi-sama opened the door and we entered.
"I wanted some alone time with my new little sister." She replied smiling, then added. "I also thought you might need a break."
"Thanks you form taking care of me, Yu- Onee-sama." I said gratefully.
"A lot of the commotion will die down once your interview gets published." My Onee-sama stated. "By the way, I set up your interview with the newspaper after classes this afternoon. I also asked Tsukato-san to go with you in case they try to bully you. Meet me at the Rose Mansion afterwards."
I ope am not a bother to you, Onee-sama." I said shyly.
Onee-sama smiled at me and held my hand. She looked deep into my eyes. "You are not a bother Kanako-chan. Youko-sama, the former Rosa Chenesis, told me once 'the older sister protects' I just want to protect you from some of the problems I experienced last year." She finished as she started to unpack her lunch.
I started unpacking my lunch also, as I asked, "Onee-sama, if the older sister protects, what does the younger sister do?"
"Supports." she stated and started eating.
I nod and start eating. We eat together in silence. It is a comfortable silence not the least bit awkward. I look at her beautiful face and expressive features. She looks up, meets my gaze, and blushes. I avert my eyes quickly and feel my own face redden. She laughs, causing my to giggle and blush more. She is so cute like that, it makes me want to squeeze the stuffing out of her. All too soon lunchtime is over, so we clean up and walk back to class.
As we were walking to my classroom, our fingers intertwined. I feel like I am on display, but I am not embarrassed by it at all. The touch of my Onee-sama is comforting and empowering. She squeezes my hand before we separate, a token of silent support. I smile at her as I enter my classroom.
Tsukato-sama comes and gets me after classes are over. "Ready for your big debut?" She asks me.
"Y—yes." I hesitantly answer.
"Don't worry." she reassures me. "I'll be thee in case things get out of hand." She adds as we head to the newspaper clubroom.
The inter view went well. Most of it was pretty basic. What books I like, What I dislike, my favorite subjects and more personal information like that. I answered all those questions calmly. The last question took me off guard though. "You once stated that you had no interest in becoming Yumi-sama's petit soeur. What changed that made you accept her rosary now?"
What did change? I thought to myself for a minute before I answered. "When I first saw Yumi-sama, I perceived her as a pure and innocent angel. I felt that I was not worthy of her notice. As time went on and I knew more about her, I became really upset when I realized she was only human. I said some really hurtful things to her then. Instead of hating me for those words, Yumi-sama's heart is so big that she forgave me and worked hard to correct our misunderstanding. I still at times think that I am not worth to walk in her shadow. But when she looked at me with those big, honest eyes and I realized that she accepted me as I am, I just couldn't refuse her anything" I finished with tears rolling down my cheeks.
At that point, I felt Tsukato-san's arm around me, lifting me out of the chair and leading me toward the door. She looked over at the interviewer and said, "I think we are done."
The interviewer responded, "I have enough to finish the article. Thank you for your time, Kanako-san."
We stood in the hallway for some time as I composed myself. I turned and thanked Tsukato-sama for her time and headed to meet Onee-sama at the Rose Mansion.
I was walking down the pathway when a familiar voice called out to me. I stopped and turned around. "What can I do for you Touko-san?"
"I have a question for you." Touko-san responded icily. "How did a stalker fan girl lie you manipulate Yumi-sama to make you her petit soeur?"
"Touko-san, I never asked for this. It was Yumi-sama's decision." I shot back at her.
"But why you? There are many more qualified and worthy first years, that would be a much better fit than you." Touko-san said disapprovingly. "You're just not good enough for Yumi-sama."
Touko-san's words struck the raw nerve that had been exposed during the interview. It brought back all my feelings of inadequacy. Maybe I am not good enough, I thought, tears coming to my eyes as I turned and ran toward Rose Mansion. I opened the door, ran up the stairs, and through the biscuit door.
"What's wrong Kanako-chan?" Onee-sama asks as she takes me into her arms. I hold on to her tightly, knowing what I am going to do next.
I let the pig-tailed girl go and step away from her. I slowly remove the rosary from around my neck and hand it back to Her. "You can have this back, Yumi-sama." I sob.
Yumi-sama looks at me. I can see the confusion and hurt behind her eyes as she asks me, " Why?"
"Because it is as Touko-san says. There are more qualified and deserving students out there that are more worthy to be your soeur than a 'stupid stalker fan girl'" I told her as I started to walk away.
I felt a hand on my wrist pulling me back. I look at her and see Yumi-sama crying, "But none of them are you." she says softly. "I chose Kanako-chan as my petit soeur because Kanako-chan is Kanako-chan, not because of what I think she can do for the Yamyurikai. I don't care if you ever come to a meeting. If it means losing you, I won't run for re-election this year and quit the student council. I just want Kanako-chan by my side." She finished pulling back into her embrace.
"You'd really quit?" I asked sniffling.
"If you asked me too" she replied, lovingly placing the rosary back around my neck.
"I'd never would ask you too, Onee-sama." I responded squeezing her.
"You two wait here." I heard from behind Onee-sama. Looking up I see Sachiko-sama march to the door, blue fire in her eyes. "I'll be back." she said striding out the door.
Sachiko-sama is scary. I thought..
A/N - Sorry so long for an update. Thank you ItsBananas for giving me a direction to go with this, I hope to have more to update soon.. since I left you all hanging...